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This recipe, for the Honey Cake, always gets a lot of compliments. It is never dry, never becomes mushy and has a nice flavor of honey and caramel.

If you have Russian roots, you have probably tried this cake or have made it in the past. I have included all of the helpful tips that I've gotten from an experienced friend of mine. So don't be shocked by how many pictures I have listed, I don't want you to miss out on any details.

I promise you, making this cake is not as time consuming and complicated as it may look. Also, you can make the layers in advance and assemble the cake the day before.

Instructions

Cake Layers

This cake dough is made on a steam bath. Preheat water, using a bowl, on top of the boiling water; make sure the bowl does not melt. Place butter, honey and sugar; let it stand there, until it is all melted.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with baking soda until they have one consistency. Slowly, add egg mixture to the batter, continue mixing the whole time while adding.

Cook for about 30-40 minutes, until the color changes. Take it off the steam bath, add vanilla extract and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add flour to the dough; it may still be sticky after adding flour. Preheat the oven to 350F and line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Here is the trick to rolling it out - easy. Flour surface generously. Because the dough is sticky, this will help you work easier with the dough. Also you can weigh each dough piece; this way they all will turn out the same size. Make sure it measures to be large enough for the shape you will cut out later.
To move it to the baking sheet, roll it on top of roller, and unroll it onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown. During the process of baking, roll out another layer to speed up the process. When it's done, remove it from the oven and cut out each circle by placing a plate over the top. This is the key trick to making all of the sides perfect - is to cut the cake after baking. You'll need the cut off pieces for later decoration.

Do not immediately stack the layers on top of each other, as they will lose its even shape. Rather, make sure they first cool off on a flat surface.
Repeat until you are done.

Cream/ Finalizing Cake:

Whip butter together with cream cheese and condensed milk. Once they are well mixed together, add whipping cream. Whip until the cream is very thick.

Divide all cream evenly between each layer of the cake. Form the cake by putting layers of cake on top of each other.

Decorate as you wish. Let it sit in fridge overnight. Before serving, let it sit out of the fridge for a bit, as it will add more moisture to its taste.
The sides of the cake, I decorated with the leftover cake pieces that I shred in the blender. For the "honey look" I used the peach jam, it's my favorite in cakes.

Creating a bee

To create a bee, melt chocolate in the microwave; be sure to stir every few seconds. To the melted chocolate, add cream cheese and let the mixture sit in the microwave for 30 minutes. Form small oval shapes out of the chocolate mixture. Stick almond pieces in each side to form wings, and decorate with melted yellow chocolate on the top.
(those little hands are my boys helping me making bees, they were so excited to see the turnout)